Minister: The number of voluntary migrants in Armenia has increased dramatically, but they have a problem of reintegration

ArmInfo. Many of the programs implemented in Armenia to one degree or another concern migration.

On April 23, during the meeting with the delegation of the
International Organization for Migration, RA Minister of Labor and
Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan stated.According to the press service
of the Ministry, the minister noted that this, in particular, is
about employment, managing labor migration, combating human
trafficking.

"The effectiveness of strategies and programs over whichwe work will
depend on the issues raised by our partner organizations with many
years of experience in this field and their best practices, "said
Zaruhi Batoyan.The minister said that active work was being done in
the field of demography and employment, and stressed that she expects
close cooperation with local and international organizations. An
example of this is the creation of various inter-agency working
groups whose active work is one of the guarantees for achieving the
best result. "It is important for us that we can present our programs
at the highest level, expecting support from our partners," the
minister said.

The head of the Armenian office of the International Organization for
Migration, Ilona Ter-Minasyan, reported that the organization has
been carrying out a mission to Armenia since 1993 to solve problems
arising from the conflict. Over the past 15 years, the mission's
mandate has changed significantly and expanded, including, in
particular, elements of technical support. "Our observations show
that all employment issues are to some extent related to migration
problems.

Our research and statistics show that about 90% of migration flows
are related to employment. In the case of labor migration, the
protection of human rights creates serious problems," he said.Ilona
Ter-Minasyan also informed that the organization is implementing a
program of voluntary return to more than 20 countries of the world.
According to IOM, the number of migrant volunteers in Armenia
averages about 150-200 people per year, but over the past two years
the organization has supported more than 1,800 people. "In case of
voluntary return, the main problem remains the problem of employment.

Reintegration is a very important and painful problem for migrants
who decide to return to their homeland," said the head of the IOM
office in Armenia.It should be noted that the Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs cooperated with IOM in the framework of "Strengthening
the capacity of labor migration management to protect the rights of
migrants." Another program aimed at protecting the rights of migrants
in the most vulnerable communities of Armenia is underway.